The buildings never felt so good falling on you. Every brick and girder, every piece of reinforced cement fell perfectly on your body, hitting it just so, crushing it just right. It felt so good, you couldn’t imagine it happening again like this. You gave in to it and let it wash over you. No more pain. Gone.

Once the elephants started running you had nowhere to go, so you just picked up what you could and headed for the nearest copse of trees, hoping it would shield you. The dust that was raised by the trampling was blinding. The sound was a deafening roar, just a wash of noise. You closed your eyes and hoped for the best, at one point seeing someone hanging a shirt in an open window, the walls bare and the light on.

The cheering continued unabated, the banners and streamers going full tilt, creating a vision of cascading red and white. More victory could not be attained at this juncture, the flag had been planted and photographed for prosperity, the troops stood smiling, mouthing “Hi, Mom” at the gawking cameras.

Once upon the mountain, your campsite secure and safe, you set out to go higher. The Sun is cresting the horizon, the sky is anything but blue. Light beams onto you, climbing and straining skyward. Reaching. Every single ounce of energy contained in your body rising upwards towards the Sun itself, grasping it tight and never letting go. Ever.